1979
Gardian's a real loner in the giant robot kingdom; unlike the bottom-heavy designs of nearly every other Japanese robot, Gardian's scrawny and skinny legs make him an instant standout. A lot of people seem to HATE this design, but I find it strangely alluring. The deluxe diecast version of this toy, which was released in America as a "Godaikin," is a pretty tough act to follow; that one actually opens up Russian-doll style to reveal a sequence of progressively smaller robots inside. Unfortunately, that kind of high-tech gimmick is a bit much to ask of polyethylene. It's a "Robot Factory" Machinder -- one of the series of five "build 'em yourself" Jumbos that Popy sold disassembled in a desperate attempt to reduce box-size.

The Jumbo Gardian does feature the most highly articulated arms out of any other Machinder, though, and it's got a tiny cockpit as well. Unfortunately for psycho preservationist types, this is another Machinder that NEEDS to have the stickers applied to look good; the legs are completely white otherwise. There's a single-missile launcher located on the side of each thigh.

The actual transliteration of this guy's name is GORDIAN, but Bandai chose to romanize it as "Gardian" for their Godaikin series, and the translation has stuck ever since...

Matt Alt